Socalled Movie

Directed by Garry Beitel

Josh Dolgin, aka Socalled, is a Jewish Canadian musician from Quebec. He has come to attention in recent years for his unique fusion of eclectic musical genres and traditions, specifically the meeting point between Klezmer, funk, and hip-hop. The film, released in 2010, features interviews with Dolgin, as he explains his approach to making music in a way that avoids a simple pastiche of genres but rather attempts to merge them into a new and innovative style. In addition to interviews, the film features live performances of Socalled, a few of them with legendary klezmer clarinetist David Krakaeur and funk trombonist Fred Wesley. Additionally, amongst other musical endeavors of Dolgin, the film documents his cooperation with American lounge music artist Irving Fields and the first klezmer cruise of the Dnieper River from Kiev to Odessa.  This cruise was initiated by Dolgin and his parents and was an attempt to bring the tradition of klezmer music back to its roots and to bring klezmer lovers and musicians to the places that started it all.

Film Trailer:

Excerpt from the film where Dolgin demonstrates how he made a hip-hop sample from an old Yiddish record:

Additional excerpt from the film that shows part of the klezmer cruise that Dolgin and his family organized along the Dnieper river: